Reborn as a Mind-Reading Empress
Chapter 229: Expressing Likes and Dislikes

Chapter 229: Expressing Likes and Dislikes

"You have to watch your words and actions in front of other people. And if I’m not asking for your help, don’t suddenly go and scoop me up like that when I’m trying to manage on my own. I don’t want you suddenly carrying me in front of everyone when I have no visible injuries or I didn’t ask you to. You can only do it in case it was an emergency. I didn’t even look pale or whatever," Arabella scolded her husband.

"But I don’t want to see you in pain," Ferdinand countered.

"It wasn’t that painful anyway so you don’t have to worry. It was just a bit uncomfortable. If it hurt too much, I would have asked for my breakfast to be brought to my room," Arabella clarified.

"It may not be that painful this time but what if you were actually in more pain?" Ferdinand frowned.

"Even so. I understand you are worried. But always remember we have to keep appearances in front of everyone or else all sorts of rumors might begin to spread. Especially since the words you said were easy to misunderstand. What if they misunderstand and think you can’t hold back at all and abuse or force me every night?" Arabella knew how rumors could go crazy and spread like wildfire. Ferdinand could be rumored to be violent in bed as well as he was on the battlefield.

"I don’t care what people think," Ferdinand responded.

"But, I do," she glared and he flinched. Rumors should not be underestimated especially for people with rank and status like they were.

[Right. I should be careful and not mar her reputation.]

’That’s not what I meant.’

"And I don’t like being too affectionate in front of others," she reiterated while they were talking like this.

Ferdinand seemed to shrink from a giant bear to a small puppy the more he got told off and he recalled rumors about her and Andrew that he had learned from his informants.

[I heard she was quite affectionate with her former lover wherever they met. They were apparently famous for being lovebirds.]

’That’s because I was shameless then. But all we did was embrace each other since we haven’t met for long. Andrew and I never did anything as intimate as the things we did so he never spoke about things like that in front of other people.’

"Please don’t misunderstand. I just don’t want to be too touchy in front of others. It’s embarrassing when other people are watching," Arabella added so he won’t keep comparing himself with Andrew.

[Does she feel embarrassed because it’s me?] He thought there was something wrong with him. Or because she couldn’t be proud of him since he had such a negative reputation.

’That wasn’t what I wanted to say. I simply meant it literally.’

"I see. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again," Ferdinand conceded despite not fully agreeing with her statements since she had never scolded him like this before. He had all sorts of negative thoughts again.

Arabella sighed deeply and remained silent for a while until she was able to fully calm down so she wouldn’t scold him anymore. Her husband might just vanish into thin air if she said anymore.

’Why am I so moody today? Are my monthlies close?’ And she realized it was indeed.

"I’m sorry. I should have spoken a bit more nicely," she kissed Ferdinand on the cheek. She decided to soothe him since he suddenly looked so depressed. The way she spoke earlier may have been too harsh for him.

Arabella explained in a nicer way to make Ferdinand understand she just didn’t want nasty rumors from spreading. And that she simply didn’t want details about their intimacy getting known to others.

Thankfully, Ferdinand understood and agreed to be careful with his words and actions and not be too touchy in front of other people.

But he did not promise to not do anything at all since he might not be able to hold back sometimes so he might still kiss her or hold her close occasionally even if there are other people. Such as when he leaves for the borders again and had to be away from her or when he just returned and was too excited to see her.

Arabella was fine with it since those were the times that feelings were stronger than usual due to having to be away from each other.

Ferdinand did still insist he would carry her anytime when he believes she was in some kind of pain and didn’t want her to just bear with it. But he did agree to not just do it in front of everyone when she was evidently trying to hide it and try to go somewhere more private first or instruct everyone to leave before carrying her off and speaking his mind. But if he believes it was too much, he would still carry her off no matter who was there with them.

"I don’t like seeing you in pain. No, I hate it. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth and makes me feel terrible. Even more so if it was my fault," Ferdinand said so Arabella conceded since she could tell he would blame himself if something happened to her.

She realized this was their first little fight or argument and they thankfully talked it out and settled on what they could agree and concede about by expressing what they like and didn’t like.

Arabella smiled and gave her husband another kiss on the cheek once they were done talking. They kissed for a bit and Ferdinand was with a smile on his face again.

If it was their past selves, this would have grown into a bigger misunderstanding. But because they were both openly expressing what they like and didn’t like, they were able to solve this quickly. It was nice to be able to speak with each other like this despite disagreements. They were able to find a common ground, yield on other things, and come to an agreement.

In a good mood again, they had a tour around the building together and parted ways later to do other tasks.